My Goodreads review: World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm not a regular reader of zombie fiction -- in fact, I usually avoid it -- but I thoroughly enjoyed World War Z. This fictional "oral history" is less horror than near-future sociological SF (with a heavy side order of zombies), & it generally works well.

The framing concept of a reporter traveling the post-war world collecting oral histories allows the author to speculate at will about how various countries / societies might handle an entirely new kind of conflict, as represented by the walking dead. The answers he comes up with are usually pretty logical, though sometimes startling. Most of the characters introduced in these histories come fully to life in just a few pages . .. and then, alas, are never heard from again. In a few cases, we are given updates later in the book. In a few others, we're left to figure out their fates from other pieces of this post-apocalypse puzzle.

Brooks' world-building (or world-wrecking) is well thought out, & the zombies themselves are oddly believable. Without going into spoilers, though, I'd have welcomed a little more explanation of their origins. This book has the feel of SF, not horror, and the lack of a solid medical conclusion grated a bit.

Readers expecting a standard splatter apocalypse may not find this book to their tastes, but those looking for a more thoughtful approach will probably be fascinated.










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